The Last Night

Tonight is the last I'm going to spend in the United States for a while... I spent it packing and playing Settlers of Catan with my cousins. Time well spent, I think.

So now that I have about seventeen hours before I leave for the airport, it's time to go over my pre-departure to-do list. Number one... SF! I did go -- multiple times, actually -- and I got some souvenirs from the Far East Flea Market in SF's Chinatown, reportedly the best and cheapest place to buy tourist-y things. I also used my time in SF and Berkeley to prepare some cultural lessons, in a way: at the recent Giants-Dodgers game at AT&T park, I shot some short movies that I'm going to try to turn into a video lesson on baseball. (Also -- the Giants won! Woohoo!) I also interviewed some friends of mine who are students at Cal. It's for giving my future students some American college aspirations, I guess!

As for other teaching materials, I've brought along some magazines which I don't think will be terribly helpful, as they are not at a very low reading level, and they will also be outdated by the time I actually start teaching. Oh well, at least I can read them. And I also brought some Taboo cards which should make for a fun in-class activity, as long as I tweak the rules a bit to make them easier.

I finished Level 1 at TalktomeinKorean.com, and I'll spend all my plane time and the first day of Orientation doing a bit of review. The hope is that I won't be placed in a beginner-level class, even though my grammar and vocabulary is still way below intermediate.

In addition to the very useful podcast lessons on that website, I also watched (and finished!) my very first Korean drama, called Dream High. It's kind of like Smash, more like Fame (not really like Glee, I must admit). It started out pretty awful, but after three or four episodes I started to get very attached to the storylines. And while the series finale left me a bit unimpressed, I at least now have a bit more knowledge of some Korean pop stars. Also, the drama's theme song is stuck in my head.

Dream High's beautiful cast of mediocre actors

And yes, I cut my hair. In fact, I almost shaved it all off. No photos for you, though!

Lastly, I've finished packing. I really tried to pack light. One large suitcase to be checked, one small suitcase as a carry-on, and one backpack. The larger suitcase is just shy of the fifty-pound weight limit, and it is filled with nothing but clothes. The smaller one has basically everything else. Does it seem like a lot to you? I'm actually taking less with me to Korea (for one year) than I took to France (for one semester). So I think I'll be buying some more clothes while I'm over there.

Oh, one more thing... Mission Peak! I only hiked up once. Maybe I'll sneak in one more tomorrow morning... should I risk it? Haha.

Good night, moon. Next time I see you, I'll be on the other side of the world!

Swarthmore Fulbrights

Ten (10!) Swatties from the class of 2012 have been awarded Fulbright grants this year. That's a lot! And we're going to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Colombia, France, Macau, Malaysia, Norway, Botswana, and... South Korea! About half of us are going to be ETAs, and the others will conduct research on everything from food production to cancer immunology to human empathy.

Yes, ten is a lot for one year; but from what I've heard, sixty Swarthmore graduates have been awarded Fulbrights in the past six years, which, in a way, makes the running average ten per year. (Not per class year, though, because alumni are allowed to apply for the Fulbright through the institution, too.)

Way to go, Swatties! (And many thanks to Melissa Mandos, our college's very helpful grants and prizes adviser, who made it all happen.) Best of luck to you all, all around the world. Y'all better keep some blogs or something; you know how I roll.

See all of our happy faces here.

T-minus seven (7?!) days!

P.S. "Swarthmore College" in Korean is a mouthful: 스와스모어 대학교. That is: seu-wa-seu-mo-eo ("Swassmohh"?!) dae-hak-kyo.

비디오 - Video

That's "video" in Korean; transliterated from English as pi-di-o.

A fellow Fulbright fellow, Cody, posted this video she found on Vimeo that gives a sort of preview of what South Korea is going to be like. It's a pretty, nine-minute montage of footage taken around the peninsula, from hikers in the mountains to bars and restaurants in Seoul. It's well done (and it looks like the filmmakers are from SF -- cool!), so check it out!

Do you know South Korea? What cities, landmarks, or foods do you recognize in the video? What should I put on my Korea bucket list?

Pre-departure To-do List

Whew... the wedding's over! My eldest brother Tim was married this past weekend, and the ceremony and reception were held at our house. So for the past two weeks -- ever since I got back from school, actually -- I have been doing almost nothing but preparing for the biggest party my family has ever hosted. Making the favors, cleaning the backyard, painting, planting, designing, running dozens of errands... it's been a crazy fortnight. And Saturday was one whirlwind of a day! But Tim and his new wife (my new sister-in-law!) are off on their honeymoon, things at home have calmed down considerably, and now I can turn my attention 100% to preparing for a year in Korea.

So here's my To-do List. Having already finished the very necessary things, like getting my visa, medical clearance, and plane tickets, most of what I think I have yet to do is going to be based off of what I hear the other Fulbright Fellows are doing. Thanks to a surprisingly active Facebook group that was created shortly after we were all selected, dozens of us have been sharing tips and even making some travel plans for our shared year abroad. (Well, the "shared" part is only six weeks during orientation and training, but that's beside the point.) I took some pointers and made my list:

1. Go to San Francisco and grab some souvenirs, gifts for my host family and school, and prizes for students. I'll see if I can ransack the local tourism bureaus for freebies!
2. Decide if I want to mail over some magazines, readers, or language activity books that might come in handy for teaching. I plan to do a lot of my teaching with computer technology, but a good book is always nice to have in a classroom, right? People have suggested Mad Libs, which is a great idea.
3. Seriously crack down on studying Korean. I'd like to be placed in a non-beginner class, if possible, so by the time I take that placement test, I'd better have my verb conjugations down and a much larger vocabulary.
4. Cut my hair...
5. Figure out how I want to manage money while in Korea; this may involve closing one bank account and opening another. As long as I can use a Korean ATM from time to time, I think I'll be fine.
6. Pack pack pack. I have sixteen days left to organize an entire year...! At least I won't be bringing my entire closet with me. I have a feeling I'll be buying a lot of clothes (especially winter clothes) while abroad... so expect me to be dressed head-to-toe in Uniqlo when you next see me! ;)
7. See people and say goodbyes! I won't see my friends for at least six months, some for a year or longer. But I'll do my part to keep in touch by keeping up this blog. So you should subscribe to it (there's a hidden sidebar on the right; the button on the bottom is a subscribe button!), maybe, if you want to, no pressure or anything, really. Really.

Oh yes, and I must remember to hike Mission Peak a few times before I go. Am I missing anything else?

Annyeonghaseyo!

Hello, everyone! Annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요), or just annyeong for short, is how you say "hello" in Korean. An appropriate, if cliche, way to begin my new blog.

On July 3rd, I will leave the US and fly to South Korea, where I will spend one year teaching English to secondary school students. This opportunity is funded by the Fulbright Grant, which I, along with seventy-nine other Americans, was awarded this year for the purposes of ESL education in Korea. I will update frequently on this blog with photos and stories of my experiences!

So far, my experience has been limited to the preparations I've been making for departure. Packing will take some time: can I fit a year's worth of clothes and educational materials into two suitcases? I also need to start thinking of gifts for my host family and host school. (I will be staying with a Korean family for the duration of the year, which will be fun and challenging, I'm sure.)

I've also been studying a bit of Korean. Although I did take one semester of Korean language classes in college, it was a few years ago, and playing catch-up is not easy. To supplement flipping through vocabulary flashcards and drilling grammar, I've also tried watching a few Korean dramas. The few that I've tried watching so far are pretty horrendous. I don't know how people get addicted to this genre! :P But feel free to suggest some of your favorites, and I'll check them out!

T-minus 19 days!